The evening was spent recalling events of their highschool years and becoming reacquainted with classmates some of whom they haven't seen for 50 years. High School picture buttons helped with identification.

There are 45 boxes of trophies to be cleaned so many volunteers are needed. After the trophies are cleaned and inventoried, a place for their display will be determined.

McGuire said that on advice from engineers Farnsworth & Wylie the city employees dumped a chlorine treatment in the top of the well in hopes of saturating the well with the chemicals all the way down to the bottom. Tests will be taken again this Saturday and again next Monday to determine if this treatment will eridicate the bacteria.

Mayor Spencer said that it may be advisable to hold up payment to Meadow Equipment if it can be determined that they did not treat the well with chemicals as specified in the contract made with the company.

McGuire stated that there remain other methods of treating the well for contanimation including air bursting the bacteria or installing a chlorinator at the pump house. The chlorinator treatment was not advised by McGuire since it would be very expensive. Alderman Dean Barth expressed dismay that Farnsworth & Wylie did not give the city other options to consider before.

Kohlhase said that the well probably became contaminated when the pump had to be pulled last December when an electrical malfunction occured. He theorized that in the process of pulling the pump that incrustation from the well casing may have been scraped loose and contained bacteria that fell into the water supply. He said if the pump needs to be pulled in the future, the well should be treated first to make sure bacteria cannot be introduced again during the procedure.

Kohlhase added that the project resulted in a clean well, albeit at a high price. Mayor Spencer asked Kohlhase about Meadow Equipment not following recommended procedures when cleaning out the well. Instead of treating the well from the bottom up in 20 foot increments, Meadow injected all of the chemicals at the bottom of the well. Kohlhase said he feels that the city has a legitimate complaint with Meadow on this performance and perhaps an adjustment in payment should be considered.

Finlen said that the grant proposal must be submitted by July through the city. If the grant is approved, about $300,00 will be made available to the project with the other $300,000 being contributed by the New Millenium Community Center committee.

Alderman Dean Barth said that grants for an updated sewer system and a new well are more important to the city than a grant for recreational facilities. He said that the public has not been informed about the project yet and he didn't think it was appropriate for the city to get involved in a project in which the city had basically no control.

Alderman Koos wanted to make sure that the city would not be responsible for contracts undertaken on the project or in the enforcement of governmental policies. Finlen said the city would have no liability in the project. He indicated that the obtaining of the grant would give the community center the momentum it needs to elicit public interest and support. He also mentioned that the public will be given an opportunity to vote on a park district as early as next spring.

The council approved the request from the community center to lease the land at the north edge of town with Alderman Barth the sole dissenter.

Doug Melton of Farnsworth & Wylie told the city council that the Eighth Street sewer project was almost complete and all that remained was to the jet the trenches with water. The jetting was held off until Well # 3 could be brought back online. John Rupe, the contractor, will complete the project next week and will be responsible for hauling away the debris and excess fill used during the project.

Melton also indicated that Farnsworth & Wylie has completed the design of the main street sewer system which will continue on from the Eighth Street sewer system. The new sewer line would run from the corner of Eight Street south on Maple Avenue to Seventh Street and then west on the south side of Seventh to the former IC tracks along Chestnut Street. From there the line would run south to First Street. Melton was given approval by the council to go ahead and do a study on the easements that may be needed to complete the project.

Melton told the council that 4000 feet of sewer line has been televised and that quite a few problems, including blockages, leaks and cave-ins were found. He indicated that $5,000 of the allocated $12,000 for the project has been spent. He recommended that another $2,000 be spent to televise more sewer lines. He indicated that some of the sewer lines will probably have to be rebuilt.

Melton said that due to the new residential and commercial development in Minonk, that another well must be dug in order to meet EPA standards that dictate that all of the city's water needs can be handled with the largest well out of service. Currently, the city cannot meet its water demands with Well # 3 down. Melton said that a pre-application for a low interest loan has been submitted for funding the digging of well #4 that could cost well over $400,000.

June 25

The final proposal is for a $560,00 grant that includes an eight track all-weather outdoor asphalt track encircling an athletic field that will probably be used for soccer. Also included are two asphalt parking lots, a jogging/bicycle path, a playground area with $20,000 of equipment and tennis courts. The jogging/bicycle path would connect with the linear park planned for the City of Minonk. The linear park would essentially be a walking/bicycle path that would run from the recreational complex at the north edge of town to the old Illinois Central Railroad right-of-way south to downtown Minonk. Long range plans would include connecting this path with both the high school and grade school.

The grant proposal was presented to the Fieldcrest school board at their Thursday night meeting. The board and superintendent Capasso were favorable to the proposal and indicated that the school district may be interested in using the facilities.

Finlen said that if the grant proposal is approved, construction of the recreational complex will probably be completed by next spring or early summer. He indicated that the earliest date for a park district referendum will be in the fall of 2002. If a park district is approved, the recreational complex would be run by the park district. In the meantime, the City of Minonk has signed an agreement to lease the land from the Community Center Committee until a park district can be formed. It is necessary for the city to lease the land since the city will be the govermental vehicle for submitting the proposal.

The new building will contain 10 service bays 2 cars deep and one drive-thru service bay for oil and lubrication service. The 8600 square foot building is expected to be completed by this fall. Uftring said he will be hiring additional employees to meet the expected increase in business for his auto sales, auto repair and service and auto bodyshop.